A pair of important updates will be making their way to Firefox soon. First up is the PDF.js extension, which will allow users to view PDF files in Firefox without the need for a plug-in. The second is the arrival of SSL-enabled Google search, which will make Firefox the first browser to implement encrypted searching for all users by default.

PDF.js has been in the works for a while, and you may have spotted it here on Geek.com before. It’s currently slated to arrive in Firefox 14. Mozilla is playing a bit of catch-up here, of course: both Chrome and Safari have offered built-in PDF viewers for some time. Theirs, however, aren’t anywhere near as open as PDF.js. Its code is there for all to see, download, remix, and integrate into other projects, and it’s pure HTML5 and JavaScript.

There are still some rough edges to smooth out. For example, thumbnails don’t always render in the navigation pane and Firefox has trouble displaying certain more complex PDFs. The extension has already come a long way, and Firefox 14 has only just hit the Nightly channel — so there’s plenty of time to fix bugs before PDF.js hits the Stable build.

As for HTTPS search by default, you’d be forgiven if you thought Google Chrome beat Firefox to the punch. Chrome does send some of its users’ searches via SSL, but only those who are signed in to a Google account and even then only those who search on Google.com. If you’re signed in but your requests are redirected to a regional Google site (like Google.ca) they’re not encrypted.